Samsung's heir apparent Lee Jae-yong has been placed under arrest in South Korea, accused of bribery and other charges. The case is linked to a scandal that led to the impeachment of President Park Geung-hye.

Samsung is accused of giving donations to non-profit foundations operated by Choi Soon-sil, a friend of Ms Park, in exchange for government favours. Mr Lee and the Samsung Group deny any wrongdoing.

[...] Prosecutors accused Mr Lee of giving donations worth 41bn won ($36m;£29m) to organisations linked to Ms Park's close friend Ms Choi. They alleged this was done to win government support for a big restructuring of Samsung that would help a smooth leadership transition in favour of Mr Lee, who is standing in as chairman for his ill father, Lee Kun-hee.

The controversial merger required support from the national pension fund - the allegation is that this support was granted in return for the donations.